This edible feast is predominantly about texture -- not that the artful arrangement isn't almost too perfect to disturb by consumption. This slow-cooked salmon recipe from stickygooeycreamychewy.com is salmon at its finest, attractively plated with lush, buttery layers melting, fragmenting, crumbling at the mere touch.

Tenderly cradled atop an aromatic layer of sliced oranges and onions, fennel and tarragon, the fish is baked at a low temperature for half an hour. Unlike the bland color and taste that can result from more traditional cooking methods, this unfussy recipe manages to preserve the vibrant tones of the salmon as well as its shape, while dishing up a luscious product. Plus, with the extra time slow cooking affords you, you can prepare your side or salad -- and even enjoy a glass of wine.


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Though we've never been able to choose sides on the vanilla-versus-chocolate debate, blondies as unique as these render the traditional brownie somewhat uninspired.

Frites & Fries' recipe for Butterscotch and Whiskey Bars inventively pairs the dulcet butterscotch with a not-so-subtle dash of whiskey (a quarter cup!), adding a pleasurably harsher nuttiness to what becomes a complex, sweet-savory confection. The grown-up recipe aims to please both those with a penchant for sweets and those with a weakness for whiskey -- and provides an easy, soul-warming wintery treat.

The flexible blondie serves as a vessel to showcase whatever ingredients you favor, from cranberry and white chocolate, to coconut and lime. What are your favorite blondie additions? Share your recommendations in the comments!

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No, that claw is not a scary Halloween trick. Look closer; it's actually a very tasty treat.

Because the price of lobster is so low right now -- almost half of what it was more than a year ago -- the bloggers over at REC(cession)IPES were able to add a little luxury to this simple, creamy risotto, made with arborio rice, olive oil, butter, onions, shallots and white wine. Plus, the lobster adds a much-needed burst of color to what can often be a very monochromatic dish.

Come to think of it, should you want to try this at home, there may actually be a little trick to achieving these picturesque results. As REC(cession)IPES points out, it's only live lobster that's so cheap right now. So unless you can bring yourself to butcher your own crustacean (think Julie Powell in "Julie & Julia"), you may have to settle for just feasting only your eyes on this lovely lobster risotto.

At first glance you might wonder if this is some sort of science project. But what it lacks in immediate familiarity, it makes up for in taste -- especially when you consider it's a simple combination of three of any cook's most important ingredients: garlic, olive oil and coarse salt.

For this head of perfectly roasted garlic, blogger The Brown Eyed Baker simply cut off enough of the bulb to expose the cloves, drizzled them with a tablespoon of olive oil and added a generous sprinkling of salt before covering it with aluminum foil and roasting the entire thing for 40 minutes at 375 degrees F.

Great for use in pasta and pizzas and slathered on bread, those who truly love garlic may have a hard time not eating this straight out of the oven. But whatever you do with those golden-brown cloves, don't forget to save the skins for broth!

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These visibly sweet and sticky Glazed Apple Bars reinterpret the traditional apple pie in hand-held form. Crispy and crumbly, they taste delicious savored on their own or indulgently paired with vanilla-bean ice cream and topped with caramel, as blogger Sweetnicks relished them.

And the best part? The recipe uses only pantry staples, requiring but a few apples, flour, butter, vanilla, sugar, salt and cinnamon. So get baking, and celebrate fall with this luscious seasonal recipe.

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Anyone who says the bacon craze is over clearly doesn't love bacon as much as we do or is, at the very least, unaware of all the ways bacon enhances our culinary world. And it's impossible to imagine any omnivore in his or her right mind hating on bacon when staring down at this bowl of cheddar corn chowder topped off with what blogger Ezra Pound Cake calls "God's confetti."

While the "hearty, creamy, comforting soup brimming with potatoes, corn, onions and sharp white-cheddar cheese" is enough to make anyone's mouth water, it's really the bacon on top that makes this Ina Garten recipe even more enticing.

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The approach of chilly weather may leave many craving warm libations, but this Vodka Rosemary Lemonade Fizz is truly a drink for all seasons. The bloggers of the Bitten Word tackled this Gourmet recipe, which eschews the usual infusion to instead create a simple syrup with sugar, rosemary and lemon juice subbing for water. The syrup can keep for weeks in the fridge and need only be topped with vodka and a dash of club soda to be served.

Rosemary adds a nice mouthfeel and complexity to the crisp, refreshing drink, but almost any herb will serve well in simple syrup, from lavender to Thai basil. Spill your simple syrup recipes or ideas in the comments.

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Whether they're packed with walnuts, shaped like ghosts and goblins or infused with bacon and bourbon, brownies rarely fail to satisfy. Maybe it's the fact that their texture is somewhere between cake and cookie (when done properly), or just that they're always packed full of chocolate. Even a simple brownie -- with no bells, whistles or bourbon -- can be absolute perfection. Just ask Flickr user little miss amanda, who made these using a recipe from the New York City bakery Baked.

On her blog, Slow Like Honey, Amanda admits that while they're actually her second favorite brownies, they'll still "render you senseless" and are -- like any brownies worth their weight in chocolate should be -- better the next day.

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Though Thanksgiving is yet over a month away, eager foodies have already started plotting the year's most indulgent feast. And for such mouthwatering inspiration, we thank our friends at norecipes.com for this Cinnamon Harissa Turkey recipe. Omitting gravy, Marc brined the turkey in water, brown sugar, cloves, salt and pepper before applying a rub with cinnamon, sumac, cumin, coriander and harissa to create a gloriously golden, moist and spicy-sweet bird.

Marc created an entire West Asian Thanksgiving meal last year, accompanying the heritage turkey with a Fiery Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce, Tahini Mashed Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts Caramelized with Pomegranate Molasses and more. And though we were wowed by his creativity, we wonder how far we'd be willing to stray from old family recipes.

Would you be open to shirking tradition and creating an exotic Thanksgiving meal this year? Tell us how much you're willing to deviate in the comments!

[Via norecipes.com]

Photo: Ana Carmen, Flickr.

Though at first glance one might assume these vibrant cups to be brimming with chopped melons and strawberries, upon further inspection they are actually pieces of pitahaya, or, as it's more commonly known stateside, dragon fruit.

Described as tart-sweet crosses between everything from kiwis to melons to pears, varieties of dragon fruit can range in color from pale to hot pink. Most frequently eaten chilled and chopped -- or scooped directly out of the skin, the fruit is also often used as flavoring for drinks and pastries. Native to Central and South America, the cacti-grown fruit provides fiber and copious amounts of vitamin C, and lowers blood glucose levels. Red-fleshed fruits even contain lycopene, a natural antioxidant known to fight cancer and other diseases.

According to popular legend in Asia, the fruit was purported to have been created by fire-breathing dragons, who would produce the fruit instantly at the end of their fire-breathing bouts. The fruit -- fit for a king -- was gifted to the emperor as a treasured item and sign of victory.

Though by no means a household name yet, the fruit is becoming increasingly available in the United States, from fresh bulbs at farmers' markets in Los Angeles and elsewhere, to dried varieties at Trader Joe's and other specialty-food stores.

Have you tried dragon fruit? Tell us in the comments where -- and in what forms -- you've encountered it.

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As the weather turns cold (and occasionally dreary), we'll take little bursts of sunshine wherever we can get them -- especially if they're soft and sweet like these lemon-loaded cookies from Brown-Eyed Baker.

Lemon is often the perfect companion for butter, poppy seeds and, of course, vodka.

Made with lemon cake mix, lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon extract (as well as a few of the usual cookie suspects, like egg and confectioner's sugar), these "lemon burst cookies" are, like the Brown-Eyed Baker herself said, literally "bursting at the seams with bright lemon flavor."

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Spicy sriracha mayonnaise. Photo: onthemetro, Flickr.

We may have already pegged sriracha as the ultimate condiment, but we were so wowed by the simple brilliance of sriracha mayonnaise that we decided to have you feast your eyes on another rendition of it. The sauce -- made by the ever-creative White on Rice couple -- spikes mayo with sriracha, soy sauce and lemon, in a deceptively rosy-looking sauce. Longtime fans of the usual pesto mayo, we were tickled by the unlikely marriage of the all-American staple with the exotic, spicy-sweet chili sauce.

The New York Times reported back in February on the "Chili Sauce to Crow About," which is a simple purée of red jalapenos, sugar, garlic powder, vinegar and salt. Most notably marketed by Huy Fong in trademark clear plastic dispensers with a green cap and rooster image, the Times says the sauce "may be best understood as an American sauce, a polyglot purée with roots in difference places and peoples." And its uses are indeed variegated, if not unlimited -- Jean-Georges Vongerichten uses it to spice up a hollandaise and Kogi serves it as a garnish for their Korean BBQ tacos.

What's your unique use for the sauce?

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Crustless quiche. Photo: Pink of Perfection.

Professional chefs can spend hours using expensive ingredients to make beautiful dishes, that, on rare occasions, are so perfect we're afraid to eat them. But many home cooks manage to spend very little time and money on dishes that are equally appetizing.

Case in point: this quick crustless quiche from Pink of Perfection's Sarah McColl. While the lack of crust might make it more of a frittata than a quiche, we're more concerned with what's in it than what's not. Packed with portobello mushrooms, frozen spinach and an onion, this eggy meal is easy as pie (no, it's easier) and, better yet, it costs only $5 to make!

[Via Pink of Perfection]